Outcry in Baloch over killing of activist after forced disappearance

Baloch activist, Zeeshan Ahmed

NEW DELHI: An enormous outcry has erupted in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province following the disappearance and subsequent killing of a younger Baloch activist, Zeeshan Ahmed, by army personnel.Zeeshan had been campaigning for the secure return of his father, Zaheer, who was additionally forcibly disappeared by Pakistan’s Frontier Corps in 2015. Zeeshan was 11 years previous at the moment, and his sister a 40-day-old new child. Zeeshan went lacking on June 29 and his physique was recovered the following day.The incident is the newest in a collection of “forced disappearances” that has lengthy plagued Balochistan. According to a Human Rights Watch report, there are 8,463 documented circumstances of such disappearances between 2011 and 2024; the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances estimates at the very least 10,078 circumstances.Zeeshan was kidnapped on June 29, round 8pm, after a soccer match. He was strolling in direction of dwelling when “two vehicles belonging to the state-backed death squad intercepted him”, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee mentioned. “Witnesses saw him beaten up, his hands bound and then thrown into one of the vehicles,” the committee mentioned. That similar night time, household and residents of Panjgur blocked the CPEC highway and commenced a sit-in, demanding Zeeshan’s speedy launch. By morning, they have been mourning as Zeeshan’s “bullet-riddled body was found dumped in Panjgur. His corpse bore clear signs of torture, bruises from sticks and blunt force, six bullets to the chest, and deep knife wounds”, the committee mentioned.